Connect both computers to your router, or to a common switch or hub. If you have a computer with a built-in Ethernet port, either built-in or with a separate expansion card, you should be able to transfer files to the new system. (Note that the steps here can be used for current computers as well, but most should be able to work just fine with automatic network detection technologies such as Bonjour.) Therefore, if you have an older Mac with an ethernet card or built-in ethernet port, you should be able to get your files off of it. Apple's 'Apple Filing Protocol' (AFP) in OS 8 and OS 9 should be able to connect with current computers, at least in one way or another. Luckily the protocols for TCP-based networking have not changed enough to prevent connectivity with older machines. The options for portables were about the same, with the exception of the Ethernet option, which was mainly built-in when Apple introduced PowerPC G3 based laptops (though some previous models such as the PowerBook 540 did have the older AAUI-15 ethernet option).

As such the majority of transfer devices, including flash drives, CD/DVD drives, and external hard drives, will not work the the older machine.īefore Apple introduced USB and FireWire in Macs starting around 19, the standard connectivity for desktop Macs was a SCSI port, a serial connector, an ADB port, and an ethernet port (Yes, 10Base-T was FAST!). Thinking it's an easy task, you grab your nearest USB stick only to find the computer does not have any USB ports, or for that matter, any FireWire ports. Sometimes you may have an old Mac lying around that you would like to retrieve files from.

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